World Transfer Window: Ranking the Best January Deals
Monday 31st January 2011: The day football defied the credit crunch to create the best example of monetary lunacy we will in all likelihood ever bear witness too. 100 million, spent in a day. Recession? Pah. In all the excitement one would be forgiven for forgetting that the window wasn't just open for one day. Europe stood up and took note (and handed quite a few of them over too), but it was in England, amidst eulogies of the English games waning global star, that the game quite simply went mad.
The following list is my attempt to derive method from the madness. The proviso being thus; Best player with a secondary implication being the value that, in my opinion can be derived from the fee, and/or the importance they will bring to the team. For example, Darren Bent does not feature in this list as i feel neither his ability, or at the age of 27, potential in any way justifies a 24 million pound outlay for a middle table team. I make no apologies for the fact that this list is monopolised by the English game because, like the English Channel, “these be the busiest waters”.
Only time will tell whether spending 200 million in one month was “wise” (well as wise as it could ever be), but it most certainly sends out a statement of intent. Without the benefit of foresight I am unable to tell you whether this will help usurp the Spanish league from the upper echelons of the world game. I hope so, but seeing as most of the money was internally invested I doubt it.
Feel free to add your comments and draw my attention to any grievances my rhetoric may have spawned, for mine is but one humble voice in the face of £200 million. Enjoy.
10:
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Undoubtedly Andy Carroll is a very talented player. The stats don’t lie. He is irrefutably the Prier Leagues second top goalscorer this season, yet something about this deal just smacks of desperation. This was a man who, despite protestations of the second coming, had been a first team player for a year and a half. Yes he may well be the future of English football and in the air I have seen very few to match him, but 35 million? In my opinion the Carroll deal was simply a knee jerk reaction to Torres’ departure brought about by new owners fearful of a fan backlash. At 18 million he would have been a very good signing. 35 and your starting to get into uncharted waters, that’s an awful lot of wonga for one caveman throwback to live up to.
9: Um....Malaga? Are You Sure?
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In the innocuous setting of Spains Costa Del Sol a revolution is happening. Malaga has raised it’s sleeping head. After Qatarian investor Abdullah ben Nasser Al Thani, bought the club things have began to happen. During January the club were Spains main movers and shakers, backed by Al Thani’s millions the Andalucía’s, amongst others, bought (or loaned) Julio Baptista, Ignacio Camacho and Sergio Asenjo from the capital and he of the mask, Martin Demichelis from Bayern. I don’t know about you but that doesn’t sound very Malagaesque to me…
8: Bosnian Beast Joins City Charge
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It was straight from the film set: Love-sick suitor trails Bosnian in distress from afar, protesting it’s love and trying to prise him from the evil captors grasp. The evil Wolf holds on for dear life, rebuffing lovesick suitors every attempt. Then, when all hope seams lost, Bosnian in distress makes a heartfelt plea for salvation and Roberto Mancini rides in to spirit him away on his Sky Blue Sheik funded horse. In addition to the quite frightening similarities to Rapunzel, Dzeko is a very, very good player. 27 million good though? You’ll bet your Champions League on it.
7: Sampdoria Pazz Giampaolo To Inter
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Despite a rather underwhelming goal ratio to date new Inter boss Leonardo still forked out for the 15 million part exchange offer that bought Pazzini to Inter. I hate to sit on my high horse on this one but surely the only way is up? The move has indeed proved a shrewd one though as the brace he scored on his debut (a 3-2 victory over Palermo) paid testament. Under the strict structure Leonardo is creating to rectify the maelstrom of errors under the Benitez reign, early indicators indicate Pazzini has found his niche. 15 million well spent? So far so good.
6: Mourinho Striker Searches Leads To Eastlands
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Jose Mourinho’s courting of a new striker was well documented. After an injury to the brilliant Argentinean Gonzalo Higuain, a striker to take the burden of Cristiano Ronaldo was a priority. With Karim Benzema the only other option in Los Blancos’ attack Mourinho spread the net. After being knocked back in his brief dalliance with the sensational return of Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Mourinho turned to Adebayor. The loan move, which has taken Adebayor to the Bernabeau until the end of the season, brings an end to the players spectacularly unsuccessful Man City tenure in which he failed to live up to his hype from his time under Arsene Wenger’s tutelage at Arsenal. If Mourinho gets the Arsenal Adebayor, it will be a masterstroke, if this Adebayor is still that man, however, remains the question.
5: Little Dutch Wizard Joins The Beautiful People at Barcelona
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Mediocre, without a fanfare, in the scheme of things the little publicised sighing of the diminutive Ibrahim Affelay by Pep ‘hobbit collector’ Guardiola appears of little significance. In reality, however, the move could prove very astute. At only 24, the young Dutchman adheres to the youthful vibe resonating around the Camp Nou these days, but more importantly he bring competition. Affelay’s arrival means Pedro is no longer beyond repute, as it were, he has a rival. Whether Affelay can usurp the Spanish boy wonder remains to be seen, but at only 3 million I can see only good coming from this transfer for Affelay and for Barcelona.
4:
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I like Man United, always have, always will, but yet I think that this is a superb signing. Davis Luiz, along with countryman Thiago Silva is amongst the new breed: Fast, strong, ball playing Brazilian centre-backs. With one of the most distinctive barnets in England today, even if Luiz’s play doesn't live up to the hairype (sorry), it’s unlikely we will forget him. For that to happen though, I would say is a remote hope, Luiz’s game, finely tuned in the workshops of Portugal seems to me perfectly suited to England. He wont fail and you know what? Even as a United fan, I don’t want him to.
3:
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Diego Maradonna mark 2 is amongst us. The man who in many people’s eyes ‘robbed’ Ghana of their rightful place in the World Cup semi-final, by stopping a certain goal with his hand (I strongly refute this view, but that’s a matter for another time), joined Liverpool on deadline day. The transfer that seemed to drag on forever without really going anywhere was finally completed a mere hour before the deadline as Suarez put pen to paper on his 23 million pound deal. It is this signing, more than that of Carroll that I feel really marks Liverpool’s potential reincarnation as challengers once more. Carroll was a replacement for Torres, simple as that, and an inadequate one to boot. Suarez was a statement, a void that had been noted by David Ngog’s ineptitude's, a partner. He would have come if Torres had stayed or gone and when we are talking about a player of Suarez’s class that, to me, speaks wonders.
2: AC Splash The Cass (Or Not As The Case May Free)
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Someone was always going to do it, it just happened to be AC Milan that took the plunge. After his much publicised falling out with Sampdoria chairman Ricardo Garrone over the Italian international striker’s 30 minute rant at the club led to the cancellation of his contract, Cassano was left to test the free market. This inevitable created a dilemma: Whether to bid for a player of irrefutable mercurial talent with a ball at the risk of squad harmony or to ignore the issue and prolong Cassano’s sabbatical. Many chose the later, “too much trouble”, came the word, but not AC Milan. They took the chance on Cass and if he fits in well to the attack that can already boast Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho AC Milan could well be the one’s to watch in Italy and in Europe.
1: Abramovic Makes a Statement: Torres Joins The Revolution
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And so number one. In my mind this is a no-brainer. With an aging squad and rumours circulating about his true determination to the cause, Abramovic has, in one fell swoop made a jaw-dropping statement. By dusting off the cheque-book on the very last day (and spending 70 million in the process) he has given the club and it’s transfer dealing’s the maximum possible exposure. The façade of ‘will it go through in time’ only served to heighten the furore over the move and ensured the captive audience of the retentive world. Fernando Torres is commonly regarded as one of the best striker’s in the game. He was the figurehead of Liverpool, Abramovic has decapitated the Kop and in so doing sent out a very clear signal of intent to every single one of his doubters. 50 million very well spent.
And The One That Got Away: Tottenham Leave It Late, To Late.
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It just wouldn't be deadline day without Harry 'wheeler-dealer' Redknapp popping his stick into the melting pot. Unlike the superb Rafael van der Vaart deal of 5 months ago, however, this time it was not to be as a late bid for Charlie Adam, despite being accepted by Blackpool, apparently didn't go through as "shareholders that needed to sign the forms were uncontactable". Good old Blackpool.
